Australian Rugby is primed to enter a golden decade, primed to attract and inspire the next generation of players.
This was the view of Wallabies and Wallaroos captains Michael Hooper and Shannon Parry as Australia was confirmed as the hosts of the 2027 and 2029 World Cups.
The announcement was made late Thursday, which will see England host the 2025 Women's World Cup and the USA take charge of the '31 and '33 tournaments.
"It's pretty special," Hooper said to reporters.
"The runway from this all comes together in the next 10 years of rugby. Not only with these World Cups but with rugby's involvement in the Olympics and what that looks like.
"It's a pretty good time to be a young rugby player or looking to play rugby."
“I think playing anyone at home is something special,” Parry added.
“We’ve seen the effectiveness in the Sevens with the Commonwealth Games and the Sydney Sevens and how big the crowd the women’s game can draw to a stadium.
“I think it’s really exciting to have it down under and as we've seen, it’s the runway for starting not only men’s but women’s Rugby with all the landmark events and Rugby is going to front and centre for the next decade.”
It adds to a growing calendar of landmark Rugby events in the country, with the World Cups set to be preceded by the Lions Tour in 2025 and a Commonwealth Games in 2026 set to split the two Cups.
Coupled with the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and it provides a world-class opportunity for both men and women coming through the grassroots for once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
“I think there’s the opportunity to set it up for the future,” Hooper believes.
“With the Lions, we know it’s going to be massive. With that and the women’s World Cup, you start to create a runway for this next ten years but further and hopefully my little boy is able to play the game and there’s an opportunity for him to play professionally if he wants to.
“It’s such a great spot at so many levels, the ability to (keep) doing at that level would be so good. That’s literally what it has the opportunity to do, bring fans back to loving the game because it’s a unique one.
“This has a knock on effect, doesn’t it? Not only the want to be here and play is something that’s intangible but there’s that financial level where you are able to marry that up so you have those extra layers to stay.”
No one knows this better than Parry, who was one of the leading lights in the gold medal-winning side from the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Having made the switch back to 15-a-side, she was confident it could have a similar effect heading forward, with the first World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere to be held later in the year in New Zealand.
"We saw off the back of 2016 (Olympics) it created a pathway and a bit of a legacy for young girls to inspire to," Parry believes.
"If you follow the 2019 World Cup into the Commonwealth Games and the 2032 Olympics at home, it's a massive pathway and trajectory to get girls involved in Rugby which is exciting.
"If you are a youngster, 15 or 16, come eight years time, you could be in that Wallaroos team so it's something really exciting and it's up to the current Wallaroos to be that pathway and role models these girls can look up there."
